Spoelstra sees Coles, Chalmers as ideal partnership

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The point, coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday, is that point guard should not be construed as an either/or proposition for the Miami Heat.

Amid the buzz created by the Tuesday breakout performance of rookie Norris Cole against the Boston Celtics Spoelstra stressed what is most gratifying at this stage is the youthful versatility he has available at the position, when also factoring in fourth-year starter Mario Chalmers.

"We have two great, young point guards that we think bring two different things to the table that we really like," Spoelstra said before the Heat faced the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena, "and, most importantly, help our team win.

"We like it. They're both young. We feel as comfortable as anybody in the league, two young point guards under 25 that bring different skill sets."

To a degree, having dual young point guards almost is emerging as an NBA trend. Wednesday, it had the Heat going against the Bobcats' D.J. Augustin and Kemba Walker. Friday, at the back end of this two-game trip, it will have the Heat going against the Minnesota Timberwolves' Ricky Rubio and J.J. Barea.

"The fact that both of them are young and promising with a lot of potential," Spoelstra said of Chalmers and Cole, "we haven't had that in this organization for a long time."

Spoelstra remains committed to Chalmers as starter, if only because of the game-changing impact Cole can produce off the bench.

"With Norris, immediately you see it. The pace changes," Spoelstra said. "He ignites it, the break. He knows how to play fast. He gets people involved on the break, and we like that."

Priorities straight

While much has been made about the Heat's upgraded offense, including some who question whether it could succeed in the playoffs, Spoelstra said the detractors are missing the point about what remains the team's core identity.

"This team is not built for and we won't accept trying to outscore teams," he said. "That's not how we feel we'll have any success in the playoffs."

Instead, Spoelstra said the priorities remain defense and rebounding.

"So we have to stay committed," he said, "and particularly if we're going to see different schemes, gimmick defenses, that we can still control it by defending and rebounding the ball and getting out in the open court.

"And it starts on that end. Our guys understand what makes this successful, and it's not trying to outscore other teams."

At one point during Tuesday's victory over the Celtics, Boston coach Doc Rivers shouted to his players that the Heat only could score at the rim. Spoelstra has no issues there.

"That is our identity," he said. "That's how we're built. So a lot of things that you're seeing us do, that we built on from last year, are to take advantage of those things, get out in the open court, open up driving lanes, take advantage of these guys in the post and play out of our offense, a little bit more movement, a little bit more pace."

The Jones issue

Even with the Heat struggling Tuesday against the Celtics' zone, Spoelstra elected to keep forward James Jones on the bench, despite Jones standing 6 of 8 on 3-pointers this season to that point.

"When we face zone, we still have to stay true to our mentality," Spoelstra said. "And sometimes that means we'll have 3-point shooters and we have to take advantage of that, keep defenses honest. But we also have to be able to execute to get opportunities in the paint."